Smarter Than You
by WithinPastel
Summary: Light Yagami is the main suspect in the Kira case, but is also the detective's first ever friend.
1. Late-Night Snack

"Yagami-kun…" L's voice came softly from the other side of the room. Pulling the heavy sheets off of himself, he stepped onto the hardwood floor and towards Light. "…Yagami-kun!" He repeated himself. Grunting, Light opened his eyes slightly so that he could see the detective that stood before him. His chestnut hair was sticking up on the top of his head. "Ryuzaki?" Light opened his eyes completely and glanced over to the alarm clock. Still not being fully awake, he yawned and pulled off half of the sheets, only exposing the top part of his body. "Wh-What are you doing this early?" L had his hands shoved in his pockets, with his back hunched over as usual. "I would like to have a snack. Seeing as though you are on the other side of these handcuffs, I cannot leave to go to the kitchen myself." As Light was fully awake and could grasp onto what L was saying, he simply rolled his eyes at the detective. "You eat way too many sweets. How can you be so sure that you won't get diabetes from eating such things?" He chuckled as he fell back into his bed. "Go back to bed, Ryuzaki." L frowned. That wasn't the response he was wanting. He knew Light would never understand the reason he ate sweets, he hardly even knew himself. He only knew that if he wanted his sweets, he was going to get his sweets. After waiting a while, Light noticed that L refused to move. "You're so stubborn, you know. It drives me insane sometimes." Light groaned as he pulled the blankets off of the rest of his body. Putting his arms up in the air to stretch, he was suddenly yanked  
forward out of the small bedroom by L. They were both tired and aggravated, neither of them were going to be patient with each other.

Light was slumped in a metal bar stool in front of the counter. The handcuffs that went over the counter and partly across the room were rattling while L was shoving things around in the fridge, looking for his perfect late-night snack. When L was looking for something in the fridge, and he was often, he stuck his entire body in the fridge. Light always found it somewhat amusing. He never said anything about it, it was just another one of L's odd functions. This one was just slightly more humorous to watch in action.

Light looked up at the hunched detective when he heard the clattering in the fridge come to a stop. L walked over to the counter carrying a plate of strawberry-swirl cheesecake in his hands. He sat down next to Light, and begin eating his masterpiece. Light stared at L as he ate. Not because of the ridiculous amount of whipped cream he had covered his dessert with, but because of the way he ate. He would pinch the fork in between his thumb and pointer finger, slowly rest it into the dessert, and then examine the cheesecake. Then he would lowly lift the fork into his mouth, and it would stay there for what seems to be an eternity. Light couldn't stand this. He had nothing to do at times like this besides watch the detective eat in the odd ways he functioned. Desperate to see something interesting take place, he scooted the plate slowly away from L's grasp. The large, dark orbs in L's eyes stared at Light in shock. Light chuckled to himself. "Oh, what's wrong, Ryuzaki?" L's eyes narrowed at Light. He reached out to grab his cheesecake, but Light pushed it to the other side of the counter to where he knew L wouldn't be able to reach. "You really think I'm getting up in the middle of the night just to be pulled around by you? C'mon, Ryuzaki! Fight for what you want!" Light said sarcastically as he laughed at L. Light was much taller and stronger than L, there was no way he could get his dessert back unless he played Light's little games. "I accept your challenge, Yagami-kun!" L stood up. Taking this whole joke too seriously, he knocked Light out of his seat. As Light hit the hard floor, L stood over him, cheesecake in hand. "Please do not tease me at such hours. We can have our usual fits and arguments in the morning. Come on, Raito-kun. We are going back to bed." Light stood up, one hand on his head because of the pain he felt from getting knocked onto the floor, the other being yanked forward into the hallway yet again by L, rushing to get back to bed.

They entered the small bedroom, L in the lead. Light never liked being bossed around, but it was such a late hour that he didn't have the energy to fight back. He willingly let L pull him into the room. L got up onto his bed and sat with his legs curled beneath him, as usual. Light got back into his bed and pulled the large covers back over himself. Both of them were silent. The only thing that was audible was the sound of L's fork tapping against the glass plate every time he went for another bite. It was getting to the point where Light couldn't take simple noises like that anymore, because it was late and all he had wanted was to get a good night's sleep. "Ryuzaki…" L turned his head, the black orbs in his eyes laid on Light. "…Could you tell me why you enjoy eating sweets so much?" Light didn't know why he would ask something like that, he didn't even think he wanted to know the answer. He just desperately wanted to break the deadly silence. "You are the head suspect on the Kira case, Raito-kun. There is no reason for you to ask such questions, unless you were trying to learn more about me so that you could kill me." Light rolled his eyes. "I've told you at least a hundred times; I am not Kira, no matter how much you want me to be." Light sat up so that he could see L. He wanted to see his reaction. L sat his plate down on the nightstand next to his bed, and turned to face Light. "I think you over-exaggerated on your estimate, Raito-kun. You have not told me such things a hundred times. You are also in the wrong; I would have no intention of being your friend if I _wanted_ you to be Kira. I don't think you understand how injustice Kira truly is. Asking me about my sweets raised my suspicion of you being Kira by 5%." That wasn't what Light wanted to hear, but he was far too tired to argue. "I understand." Light turned back over and fell asleep quickly. L didn't fall asleep for about another hour or so, but he never had good sleeping habits in the first place. He was always used to such extreme working hours. He was sitting in the same position he was always in; legs curled up underneath of himself, and his hands resting gentle on his knees. His messy, black hair fell over his face and he was now asleep.


	2. Unconditional Mess

The trees outside scratched roughly against the large window in Light and L's bedroom. The sound of rain and thunder was accompanied by the whistling wind outside. Light didn't tend to wake up very easily, but the loud noises of nature made enough racket to get him up and out of bed. He kicked the heavy blankets off of himself, but quickly found himself jumping right back into bed. The October morning was so frightfully cold, he couldn't bring himself to get out of the warm covers. That was, until L had dragged him off and onto the floor. They were still handcuffed, and L doesn't usually wait for Light to do things. He simply does it himself. Light hit the floor with a loud thump.

"Ryuzaki! What do you think you're doing?" Light groaned as he pulled himself off the ground and back onto his feet. L turned and looked back at Light. "What am _I_ doing? Raito-kun, do you understand that it is eleven in the morning? You've overslept yet again!" L seemed to be frustrated with Light. He looked down and sighed. He found it pointless to start an argument with Light before they had even started the day's work. "Raito-kun…" He lifted his head up slightly. "Let's get to work before you start wanting to play another one of your games." L left the bedroom. Light sagged behind, he wasn't quite sure what L had meant when he said that. Yes, of course he liked making L aggravated, it was almost as if it were one of his hobbies. He just hadn't initiated a fight that day yet, besides their little dispute in the kitchen hours earlier.

Light stumbled to catch up to L. He put his hand on the detective's shoulders as a way to get his attention. "Wh-What do you mean? Have- Did I say something out of line?" Light smirked. "Wow. I'm not usually known for being out of line!" He chuckled, L did not. He looked at Light, and then continued down the hall to get to his computer. "I'm not in the mood for jokes right now, Yagami-kun. We have work to do." Light groaned for a second time. He was expecting a good reaction. "Yeah, well, whatever helps prove that I'm innocent. I can hardly stand another minute of being this close to you." L stopped his walking. He turned his entire body so that he seemed dominant to Light. "Yagami-kun!" L's tones were fierce. "I am 63% certain you are Kira. That is out of everybody in the entire country of Japan! There is no point for you to be fighting against it. I am still not 100% positive yet, and that is why we have been handcuffed. If you would like to confess right here and now, you'd get your punishment, but the handcuffs would be seized. So, go ahead, Yagami-kun. Confess to being Kira so we can get these God-damned handcuffs taken off." Light was silent. He didn't quite know what to say. There was silence for a long few seconds. "Exactly. Now Yagami-kun, let's get to work so that we'll have less work to do tomorrow." L started down to the office again. Light was far behind him, but wasn't being dragged like he was before. "We'll be working the exact same tomorrow, Ryuzaki, if not more." Light's voice was quiet, but L's were still as fierce as they were just a minute ago. "I know, I just thought that maybe such words would get you to actually do all of your work, instead of leaving it to me like you normally do. Despite what my superiors may think, I'm still a human being. Now, Yagami-kun. Like I stated before, let's get to work."

L walked to his computer as if nothing had happened at all. The rest of the team was already there, waiting for them. Even though Light was supposed to be doing his work like L had ordered, he couldn't stop thinking about what L had said about _'Despite what my superiors may think…'_ The rant that L was going off on was so much for Light to decipher. If he wanted to eventually kill L the detective, he would have to understand him and out-smart him. The entire rant was _gold._ It was like he had hit a jackpot. So much emotion had been put into those words. If he could figure out how L felt and what his buttons were, he could push him just enough to get him to break. He didn't want anything more than for L to be crushed and murdered, besides succeeding as Kira and bringing justice. Just that one rant was going to keep him busy for a while.

L was inseparable from the desktop computer. The glow of the monitor screen shined over his entire body. When L got caught up in his work, he wasn't stopping until his body, or Watari, demanded him to sleep. Watari wasn't a very strict guardian, and L was used to working extreme hours. He wouldn't be stopping for a while. He didn't even stop to look when Matsuda had spilled water over Light's own computer. He was deep in the void-like state, and ignored the shouting of his teammates trying to get his attention. He just couldn't hear them through all the thoughts in his head.

"RYUZAKI!" Light shouted at the detective as loud as his lungs could handle. L paid no attention.

"Ryuzaki! What the hell is wrong with you!?" Light's eyes seemed to be popping. Matsuda swore he saw a vain enlarge right in Light's forehead. Still, L seemed to be unfazed by the whole situation. He had no idea it was taking place. Suddenly, L fell to the wood floor with a big thud. Light had gripped onto the back of L's shirt and pulled him backwards, onto the ground. Partly because he was trying to get L's attention, the other part was revenge for what had taken place the night before. L's eyes opened wide when he snapped back into reality. The dark orbs in his eyes stared at his teammates, who were all staring right back at him. "Jeez, Ryuzaki! Have you been falling into the void this entire time?" Light waved his hand to-and-fro in front of L's face just to make a point that L hadn't been paying attention. L didn't even try to retaliate, he just kept on staring at everyone in the room, as he still laid on the floor. After a moment of silence, L's voice was clear, "Matsuda," He positioned himself to face Matsuda. "What have you done _this time?_ " L gave Matsuda a dirty look as he got back up and sat back in his chair; back hunched, legs curled under himself, and his hands on his knees. Matsuda smiled nervously. "Well-uhm… you see…" He put his hands into his pockets, "Well-You see-Uhm…" "This numbskull spilled water all over my desktop." Light interrupted. Everyone turned to look at Matsuda. "Well, I wouldn't say _'numbskull'…"_ L paused for a minute, and then responded. "It doesn't matter anymore. I'll call Watari, he'll order you a new working computer. For now, you can work with one of his extra desktops. Limited work is better than nothing." He stopped to look directly at Light. "Until then, try to make yourself useful by staying out of my way for the rest of the day." Light snarled slightly. "If you don't remember, we've been handcuffed for the past seven days. I can't think of any possible way I could stay completely out of your hair." L was slowly starting to get sucked right back into his computer world, so he wasn't very quick to respond. "Raito-kun…" his eyes were drifting back into the depths of the computer screen, "…go make yourself useful. We don't need the extra tension." Light stood there for a moment, hesitant to take such orders from L, but that was the only thing he could do at the moment. He sighed and went over to where his desktop used to be, and tried cleaning up the remains of the water. Matsuda grabbed some paper towels and awkwardly handed them to Light as an attempt to help. Light squeezed his fingers underneath the soaked computer, and set it carefully onto the ground. He would have to wait for Watari to come and take it away, since Light could only go a few feet out of L's reach. He sat down in his desk chair, staring at the rest of the team as they did their work. Each of them were focused on their own individual work, and they were all oblivious to Light harshly looking down on all of them, giving them all murderous looks. Kind of Ironic. The room was completely silent, except for the tapping and clicking sounds of L typing on his computer constantly. It was calming, in a way. It became a smaller, peaceful noise, like the sound of an air conditioner in the background. Light's eyes were cut off from the glare they gave the teammates, and he turned his head back around to look at his empty desk. He put his elbow on the wooden desk and plopped his head into his hands. Still not knowing what to do with himself, he turned to look at L. L looked so… so innocent under the cold glow from the screen of his computer. He looked like a little kid, besides the huge bags under his eyes. For a moment, Light forgot he was working against L. He wasn't plotting what steps to take next to outsmart the detective, or planning whose name was going to be written down next. Light admired L. Not in a romantic kind of any sort, but he craved L's friendship. Looking down on L, Light could see the messy black hair going every which way. His thumb was either between his lips or tapping constantly on the keyboard. His feet were under him, and he hunched himself over his knees. Light went over all of L's features, judging them all and admiring them all. He had never truly thought about all those things that much, but he was incapable of doing his work, so he had to find something else some-what entertaining to do. The room was still quiet and peaceful. Even the slightest noise could make the biggest impact—

 _SLAM!_

The door was forced open by Misa, who didn't wait for anyone to welcome her in.

"LIGHT! I've missed you!" Misa ran up and threw herself onto Light, who was still sitting down. She squeezed his head, her breasts being smushed into Light's face. She might or might not have been doing it on purpose, but either way, Light's face was burning red.

"Haven't you missed me? Oh, Light! You should take me somewhere! We can go on a date now that we're both here-"

She cut herself off as she peered down at Light's wrist. She tilted her head in confusion.

"Light…" She noticed the handcuffs. Her eyes slowly followed the chain to the other side, where she found L sitting in his chair. He hadn't noticed Misa's entrance, because he was still glaring into his computer screen. "Wh-What is this? Light!" She crossed her arms and pouted her lips like she was a child who didn't get their way. Light looked up at Misa who had just pulled herself away from him. He put his hands up to gesture that it was okay. "Hey now, this is only so that he can prove that I'm innocent." He tugged on the handcuffs as an attempt to get L to snap back into reality. Two or three tugs later, it surprisingly worked. "R-Raito-kun… What are you-" He noticed Misa standing in front of him, still pouting like a child.

Misa put her hands down to her side, and turned her hands into fists. She seemed furious over such a ridiculous thing.

"Who do you think you are, trying to steal _my_ Light! Y-You… you faggot!" She yelled at L, who was still sitting and biting his thumb in his usual position.

L just glared at the girl. He still didn't quite know what was going on.

Finally, he pieced together what was actually taking place. He looked seriously at Misa.

"Misa, that is not very mature of you. Light agreed to this himself, saying that he would like his name cleared." Misa looked dead onto Light. He returned the look right back to her.

"Light..." Her eyes started to fill up with tears. "How could you! You're mine! _mine!_ "

Light rolled his eyes and sighed. He didn't feel like trying to comfort Misa Amane at the moment, he just wanted to get her out of there.

"Misa, you should go back home. I promise, there is nothing for you to worry about." Light paused for a breif moment and sighed. "I have to do this, in order to prove that I am innocent."

Misa hesitated to respond. She wiped the tears away from her eyes and nodded.

"Okay, I believe you Light. I never really doubted you for a second!"

Misa ran back into Lights arms, recreating the entire scene from earlier. Soichiro chuckled, with his arms crossed. After Light pulled himself away from Misa, he walked her out of the room and closed the door behind her. He sat back down with his cheeks still glowing red. He could hear Matsuda and Mogi behind him, whispering something about Light being "a player" and "getting all the girls." He pretended he didn't hear them.

They all went back to their work in complete silence.


End file.
